BOCYF Completed Project

Improving Research on Interactive Media and Children's Health: A Workshop

Publication: Studying Media Effects on Children and Youth: Improving Methods and Measures, Workshop Summary

The program committee organized a workshop that examined the qualities of measures used in studies of the effects of interactive media influences on children's health and identified gaps with respect to research and practice. The workshop covered the following topics:


(1) the nature of key research literatures that examine different types of media exposure among children and youth; as well as the types of behaviors and interactions associated with media use (including television, videogames, computers, cell phones, and the Internet)

(2) the strengths and limitations of different types of measures used in studies of media, children, and youth, and

(3) opportunities and strategies for developing one or more studies in this field that can inform the development of research, policy, and practice guidelines regarding media use, content, controls, and guidance for children and youth.


The program committee planned the workshop and commissioned background papers to serve as the basis for discussion. The workshop participants reviewed relevant research literature, current measures of media sources and influences, and examples of studies in which certain health behaviors or disorders have been attributed to media influences. A rapporteur prepared a workshop summary following the meeting.